JP Morgan Settles with the SEC for $154 Million Over CDO Disclosures

On June 21, 2011, the SEC announced that JP Morgan Chase & Co. agreed to pay $153.6 million in disgorgement and penalties to settle claims brought by the SEC in the Southern District of New York. The SEC alleged that JP Morgan structured and marketed a $1.1 billion collateralized debt obligation and failed to disclose that the hedge fund, Magnetar Capital LLC, whose economic interests allegedly were adverse to the CDO’s investors, played a significant role in the portfolio selection process with the knowledge of JP Morgan. According to the SEC, while participating in the selection of the investment portfolio, Magnetar shorted $600 million of the assets it helped to select. The SEC also filed a separate complaint against Edward Steffelin, the head of the registered investment advisory firm that the offering documents represented would select the investments in the portfolio. Steffelin has not settled. JPM Settlement Announcement. JPM Compl. Steffelin Compl.